Article Debunking Myth About Senators 'Playoff Attendance Problem'

[TheSenator]

https://www.google.ca/amp/ottawacitizen.com/sports/hockey/nhl/senatorsextra/brennan-roenick-passionate-but-misinformed-about-lack-of-game-3-sellout/amp

Jeremy Roenick was taking shots at the Senators organization and it's fans for 'not selling out game 3 of the ECF' when this actually wasn't the case. We failed to sell out one game in the second round but those portraying this as an ongoing issue this postseason are flat out wrong.

Here's a direct quote:

“Don’t get me going, don’t get me going, don’t get me going,” said Roenick, who has never been at a loss for words. “It’s so frustrating to see, (as) a guy who is so proud of his sport and loves the National Hockey League, to know a conference final game is not sold out."

It seems that most of the people commenting on the 'attendance problems' arent taking recent renovations to the CTC into account and are basing their analysis on outdated capacity listings.

This article debunks the myth that Ottawa's been having attendance problems throughout the playoffs.

Click to read more...

 

[Canadian Time]

We don't need another Ottawa bashing thread on the main board. I know that wasn't your intention but that's what's going to happen.

Illegitimi non carborundum (Don't let the ******** get you down)

 

[Korpse]

Attendence is such a problem that they have the highest average playoff attendence of the four remaining teams.

 

[nmbr_24]

The league knows the deal when it comes to the Senators. It is the price the league pays to have a team so close to Montreal, Toronto, Buffalo, Boston, and every other team in the northeastern part of North America. We shouldn't pretend there is no value to other teams when it comes to the Sens location. If the Sens aren't losing money for the league then everything is okay in my book. Not selling out a game is not the same thing as losing the league money.

 

[TheSenator]

We don't need another Ottawa bashing thread on the main board. I know that wasn't your intention but that's what's going to happen.

Illegitimi non carborundum (Don't let the ******** get you down)

I think this thread serves purpose.

If people want to bash Ottawa be my guest, but don't do it from the position of a fool. Too many people are taking false statistics being spewed out by lazy reporters/analysts and running with them.

Hopefully for those actually interested in discussing the 'issue' this will provide some insight into the topic.

 

[TheSenator]

Attendence is such a problem that they have the highest average playoff attendence of the four remaining teams.

Haha I was considering making the title something along those lines but I figured this would inspire a more civil conversation.

 

[bert]

I am glad you posted this. Thank you. Will people read and acknowledge it? Probably not. But what else would they have to fill their narrative if they did...?

 

[SensHulk]

It seems a lot of analysts and viewers were led astray by one NBC sports, who wrongly declared on their broadcast that the game was not sold out. Haven't seen NBC acknowledge their mistake nor have their personnel.

That fan 590 host clearly is just an ottawa hater and jumped on a false story without checking his own sources. Hopefully sens PR paid attention and will update the CTC capacity on wikipedia

EDIT: LOL just saw that the attendance number got updated on wiki as of May 19th

 

[cfrancis]

Lots of tickets still available for tonights game on Ticketmaster.

 

[FolignoQuantumLeap]

This is way more on Sportsnet and the 590 host than JR. He was deliberately mislead to get a hot take. The onus is on the garbage at Rogers media.

 

[Street Hawk]

It seems a lot of analysts and viewers were led astray by one NBC sports, who wrongly declared on their broadcast that the game was not sold out. Haven't seen NBC acknowledge their mistake nor have their personnel.

That fan 590 host clearly is just an ottawa hater and jumped on a false story without checking his own sources. Hopefully sens PR paid attention and will update the CTC capacity on wikipedia

EDIT: LOL just saw that the attendance number got updated on wiki as of May 19th

If it's simply a matter of the Sens organization not communicating with the NHL offices to update the seating capacity of the arena, that's on the Sens. They are in full control of that information. If seating capacity decreases, let it be known to the NHL and have them update their site accordingly.

 

[Morbo]

......

 

[Comely]

Lots of tickets still available for tonights game on Ticketmaster.

Unless you are talking about resellers I just looked at ticket master and there was 10 seats left

 

[Comely]

If it's simply a matter of the Sens organization not communicating with the NHL offices to update the seating capacity of the arena, that's on the Sens. They are in full control of that information. If seating capacity decreases, let it be known to the NHL and have them update their site accordingly.

Well they did put out a press release when the changes were made.... perhaps the NHL requires a specific person be emailed when capacity changes?

 

[ruunto71*]

Very sad to see. Ottawa just isn't strong hockey market

 

[TimbitsHockey877*]

Very sad to see. Ottawa just isn't strong hockey market

Agreed, very sad to see.

 

[Hockeyholic]

The fact the building holds 20.5 k (Standing room) and the Sens barely passed the sellout mark of 18,572 (18,615 Paid & who knows how many given away), for game 3 of the ECF ( By the way, plenty of tickets available tonight) should be a concern.

The Oilers sold out watch parties & charged an arm and a leg for tickets this spring. All games sold out within minutes of going on sale.

Toronto ( 18,815 Seating) had crowds of 19,700 plus this spring.

Montreal & Calgary were sold out.

Yes Montreal and Toronto are two of the biggest hockey markets in the world. But it's still really shocking how little support they get.

 

[Masked]

The fact the building holds 20.5 k (Standing room) and the Sens barely passed the sellout mark of 18,572 (18,615 Paid & who knows how many given away), for game 3 of the ECF ( By the way, plenty of tickets available tonight) should be a concern.

That's not a fact. It's an ignorant assumption on your part.

And where do you see plenty of tickets available for tonight?

 

[joe89]

What matters is passion and atmosphere, not the amount. Winnipeg's a great example. Leave the rest to the accountants to worry about.

 

[Sens Rule]

That's not a fact. It's an ignorant assumption on your part.

And where do you see plenty of tickets available for tonight?

His imagination.

 

[MarkStone]

The fact the building holds 20.5 k (Standing room) and the Sens barely passed the sellout mark of 18,572 (18,615 Paid & who knows how many given away), for game 3 of the ECF ( By the way, plenty of tickets available tonight) should be a concern.

The Oilers sold out watch parties & charged an arm and a leg for tickets this spring. All games sold out within minutes of going on sale.

Toronto ( 18,815 Seating) had crowds of 19,700 plus this spring.

Montreal & Calgary were sold out.

Yes Montreal and Toronto are two of the biggest hockey markets in the world. But it's still really shocking how little support they get.

Holy hyperbole batman. We never claimed to be a stronger hockey market than Edmonton, Toronto, Calgary, or Montreal. We are however a strong hockey market and to claim otherwise is to just be deliberately obtuse.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Holy hyperbole batman. We never claimed to be a stronger hockey market than Edmonton, Toronto, Calgary, or Montreal. We are however a strong hockey market and to claim otherwise is to just be deliberately obtuse.

Well.
There are certainly a lot of hockey fans in the market, but the season ticket base has never really exceeded 11,000-12,000 and they don't release season ticket numbers anymore. We're really a walkup market that's an event-driven market as well. For this reason, we shouldn't worry if a regular season game has 14,000 or whatever, because those aren't really important (yes, the two points...) but playoffs are a more limited attendance opportunity.

TLDR: We're a hockey market, yes. But we're gate driven and event driven more than some other markets.

 

[BonkTastic]

The fact the building holds 20.5 k (Standing room)

But it doesn't anymore. That's the whole point of the article. We renovated the arena and pulled seats out to build a "exclusive club" area on the north end (visitor's bench side), which reduced the capacity significantly.

Also: AGCO (Alcohol & Gaming Comission of Ontario) capped our attendance for liquor law reasons a few years ago, which means we can't sell 3 and 4 rows of Standing Room Only tickets anymore, which is how we used to get those 20,500 crowds when the Leafs would come to town. We used to pack the building like sardines for those games and charge through the nose, but the gov won't let us anymore. It's the same reason the Leafs will never really sell more than ~19.5k fans (give or take a couple,of hundred) - the AGCO won't let them sell standing room tickets more than 2 rows deep. Haven't in a few years, as an attempt to crack down on the ability for a venue to control inebriated guests. Same thing happened with the Red Blacks this year, from what I heard - they could have sold more seats (and they definitely wanted to, we sold out every CFL game this year), but AGCO capped the attendance for the venue and threatened a suspension of the venue's liquor license if they violated (the same threat they have given the Sens and Leafs, IIRC)

So yeah. Take your uninformed opinion and shove it where the sun don't shine.

 

[cfrancis]

Unless you are talking about resellers I just looked at ticket master and there was 10 seats left

Tickets available in a Canadian city for a conference final the day of should not happen.

I live in Ottawa. Ottawa is fickle fans. Lots of walkups, depends on weather, etc. I remember hearing once that the Renegades could have as much as 12K walk up per game but if it rains, it could be as low as 2K. How can you run a business with so much uncertainty?

Part of it is Melnyk is a polarizing figure. It's hard to get behind a team and consistently lowers threats on their fanbase and city.

It's weird, the team is the conference final and it seems like the city hasn't woken up to it yet. I remember the last run to the final, 7/10 cars would have Sens flags or stickers. Now it's maybe 1/10. Doesn't seem like there is much excitement in the city.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Unless you are talking about resellers I just looked at ticket master and there was 10 seats left

And where do you see plenty of tickets available for tonight?

Looking at Ticketmaster, the game is effectively sold out as far as venue-based tickets are concerned.